There are a million guacamole recipes floating around. But this easy spicy guacamole recipe is tried-and-tested. I've been using it for over 7 years and has never let a guacamole lover down.
Pair this with some tortilla chips, make nachos, or just throw it on a slice of toast to make one of these amazing avocado toasts!
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💭 Why you'll love this recipe
This recipe uses simple ingredients, but there’s a secret twist to making sure the flavors are evenly dispersed and irresistible!
- Six ingredients and fifteen minutes: Everyone loves a good dip, and nothing better than a quick and convenient one at that.
- Avocado is super nutritious: Avocados are loaded with healthy fats, fiber and various important nutrients, and it's super delicious too!
📋 Ingredients and notes
This recipe uses only six fresh ingredients: avocado, half a red onion, fresh jalapeños, fresh lime juice, cilantro and kosher salt.
Notes, variations and substitutions
- Should you use tomatoes in guacamole? I love adding fresh tomatoes, but only in the summer. But otherwise, they water the recipe down.
- What about garlic or garlic powder? This is not a traditional component of guacamole, but you could add them in if you love garlic.
- What kind of onions should I use? I love using red onions because they bring a nice bite. But white onion or yellow onion works too.
- What kind of avocados should I use? Hass avocados are easy to find, and have the optimal fat content to make the best guacamole!
- How can you adjust the spice level? I use one jalapeno per three medium sized avocados. You can use half, or leave out the seeds or you can leave it out altogether. You can also swap jalapeno with Serrano peppers or habanero peppers if you want to kick up the spiciness.
- Other variations? This is a classic guacamole, but you could also add cotija cheese, char the jalapeno peppers, add charred corn (especially during the summer), green onions, or hot sauce to try something new!
🧂 Three Step Process (+ Secret Tip)
I have a three step process, but I led with "secret tip", so I gotta spill!
Chop up the cilantro and jalapenos and mash them together!
This is my secret to the perfect, even spread of flavor. First, remove the stem and deseed the jalapeno. Chop finely into small pieces.
Chop up the cilantro as well. Add them to a mortar and mash with a pestle (or throw them in a food processor really quickly). Or add to a medium bowl and use a fork or the back of a spoon to mash. This is the best way to evenly distribute the flavor.
Chop up avocados and add to a bowl
Slice the avocado into two halves. Twist to pull them apart. Carefully use the edge of a knife to twist and remove the pit.
Criss-cross the avocado using a knife on each half, and then use a spoon to scoop the flesh into a large bowl. Get those good fats! Oh, and save the avocado shells if you want an eco-friendly way to serve guacamole!
Add other ingredients and season to taste!
Chop up red onions really finely (so it's an even size) and add that to the bowl. Then, add the jalapeno-cilantro mixture. Use a fork or a potato masher to mash them together, but don't over mash them! Add salt to taste and drizzle with a little extra lime juice to finish.
Serve with these delicious tortilla chips, or make some delicious nachos with a bit of sour cream and pico de gallo, or my favorite: throw on wholegrain bread to make avocado toast for a perfect healthy snack!
👩🏽🍳 Top Tips & FAQs
Ripe avocados are soft, but not mushy and typically a darker color. If they’re a bit harder, buy and store in a brown paper bag to ripen faster. Buy a few different stages of ripeness so you can use it over the days to come!
Two tips here: use a tall and slim container vs. a long, shallow container. Less exposure, less browning. Or add a thin layer of water on top to cover the surface, and you'll find almost no browning. Alternatively, you can use a piece of plastic wrap and smush it as close to the top of the guacamole to prevent exposure to air.
Yes, but they tend to freeze better if you slice them into smaller chunks (say, cubes) then they freeze rather well, so wash, slice and then store them in the freezer. Check out this post on how to freeze avocados.
You can use Serrano pepper, or ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper per jalapeno in your guacamole to maintain a similar spice level. Jalapenos measure 2500-8000 on the Scoville heat unit, which is quite spicy. If you want hotter chiles, you can substitute with habanero peppers or even ghost pepper if you love spicy food.
You can add tomatoes or a couple of spoons of sour cream to keep the consistency creamy and tone down the spice.
👩🏽🍳 Serving and storage suggestions
If you store it properly (in an airtight manner, limiting surface exposure to air) - guacamole can last 3 to 4 days. If some parts brown, you can just skim the top surface off and serve the rest. My favorite trick is to top the guacamole with a thin layer of water. Never fails me!
You could freeze guacamole, but the texture changes significantly. Just make sure to squeeze all the air out of the container and then pop it into the freezer. It can stay 2-3 months in the right container. Pop in the fridge overnight before you're ready to eat it.
If you liked this easy guacamole recipe, check out these easy dips:
📖 Recipe
Spicy Guacamole
Ingredients
- 3 avocados, medium sized, ripe
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
- 1 lime, for juice
Instructions
- Remove the stem and deseed one jalapeno. Slice it into the finest dice you can - I typically slice them into four vertical pieces and then dice them further. Set aside in a small bowl.
- Chop up about ¼ cup of fresh cilantro using a chiffonade (i.e. roll them tightly together and chop away).
- Add both to a mortar and mash them together using a pestle. Or, if you have a food processor, just pulse them 1-2 times until they're evenly mixed in.
- Chop up ½ red onion into a fine dice of equal sized pieces. Set aside.
- Finally, chop up 3 avocados - split them in half, remove the pit, criss-cross the flesh and scoop out with a spoon into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the diced red onions, cilantro-jalapeno mixture, 1 teaspoon of salt, and juice from half a lime. Mix well together using a serving fork, pestle, or the back of a large spoon.
- Squeeze the other half of lime on top, add some flaky salt if you'd like, and dig in with a chip!
Video
Notes
- To get the perfect chunky consistency, criss-crossing the avocado is a great trick - if you want your guacamole more mashed, just use a masher
- You can also increase the red onions or jalapeno to your taste, add red pepper flakes, garlic, fresh tomatoes, and a number of other things to this guacamole - it's super versatile!
Nutrition
Note: This recipe was originally published on May 2, 2020. It was updated on February 4, 2022 to include new photos and a tutorial video!
I am a certifiable disaster in the kitchen so trust me when I say that this is a super easy and delicious recipe. The ratios were perfect and it took less than the suggested 15 minutes. Will definitely make my own guac from now on instead of buying it. Thank you!!
Thank you so much! So glad it worked for you and you'll make your own guacamole 😉 Nothing quite like fresh guac!
This recipe was so easy to make and turned out delicious! My new favorite guacamole recipe, hands down!
Chopping the cilantro and jalepeno together made all the difference! This was spicy and flavorful! Perfect!
The jalapeno in this gave the guacamole just the right flavor! perfect for dipping or on top of a bowl!
Love your tip about mashing the jalapeno and cilantro together! I used my food processor to mix them and my whole family agreed that this was the best guacamole we've ever eaten. So good!
I have tried other guacamole recipes and never liked them. I loved your recipe for one main reason: You hand crush the cilantro!!! Hand grinding spices and herbs is what I do everyday because it brings out the best flavors. So, I was so happy to try your recipe. It came out perfectly and the flavors tasted so fresh.